Fund facts

Summary

  • Geoff’s put in over 1,000 hours and $200,000 of sacrificed income.
  • Other founders = $6,000
  • Other costs = $6,866
  • BeneFactors = $17,625

Cost detail

From 1 April 2020 to 7 August 2023:

  • TOTAL = $232,666 + GST
    • Geoff’s contribution = $219,800 of sacrificed income (1,099 hours x $200 true private market hourly rate. $250/$295 charge-out.)
    • Other founders = $6,000 of sacrificed income and setup costs (~3k each, not time tracked)
    • Website Maintenance/Development = $2,540.30 (Upwork freelancer on US $25/hour)
    • LinkedIn Premium Business = $1,878.12 (helps us to share facts wider)
    • LinkedIn Sponsored Updates = $848.65 (trialed at the start when our following was smaller)
    • Website hosting = 1,036.00
    • Email hosting = $117.37
    • Domains = $445.40

*IT services kindly donated for free by Go Server Free. See Who page. 
**No costs on-charged by Geoff for the use of Microsoft Office, Trello, Canva, SnagIt, internet, security software, or other software.

Time detail

The main cost to run theFacts is time and energy – mostly Geoff’s. As a numbers nerd, he’s tracked all client and charity work since 2017, so we know what this exact breakdown is to the minute.

  • 1,099 hours:
    • ~Half of this has gone into setting up theFacts (thanks fact starters!) and getting the data for 94+ facts over 94 weeks.
    • ~1/5th has gone into social media, which is time-consuming as anyone who’s done it knows, but it can reach wide audiences.
    • ~10% to website content (putting the weekly facts online) and website improvements.
    • ~40 hours (1 week) in a typical month to keep theFacts Machine going (email newsletters). Many can’t believe it’s this low, but we’ve learned some lean tricks!
    • Closer to 80 hours (2 weeks) per month in recent months to get the new website live.

Incomings detail

TOTAL = $18,125

BeneFactors = $17,625 (a person who gives money or other help to a person or cause).
Other contributions = $500 + GST (content for The Common Room)

BALANCE = -$214,541
(-$232,666 + $18,125)

Financial goals

  • Firstly, we are incredibly grateful for the financial contributions made by our founding Factors and other ongoing BeneFactors, whether it’s $10 or $10k. We’ve only listed your first initial in the graph above, but we (mostly) know who you are. Thank you! This has helped cover the 3rd-party costs to date.
  • The remaining costs are mostly on Geoff’s shoulders and pockets at present. This has not been easy with a young family and large mortgage, but he and we believe this is critical work to help New Zealand prosper.
  • Paying all volunteers the minimum wage ($22.70) per hour is the next immediate goal.
  • Ultimately, Geoff would be happy to contribute half of his time for free if the rest of NZ combined could help out with the other half.

If you are in a position to help us help New Zealand, then your contribution to help us keep this vital work going would be amazing!

Thank you
Geoff & theFacts Team

Other $ Qs

Q. Who’s helping you fund this?
A. No one beyond who we’ve listed above. It’s mostly Geoff with support from the other founders, other volunteers along the way, and the beneFactors who’ve contributed financially.

Q. Why have you done all of this without getting paid?!
A. Good question, and please don’t tell our families about this page! We know we’re not normal for doing this, but we can’t help ourselves. We felt more facts were desperately needed in New Zealand to help us truly understand key issues, get on the same page, and resolve them for the benefit of all Kiwis. See the Why page for a deep dive into our drivers.

See also